The present invention relates to a metal-glass structure for a front wall or a roof of a building.
The metal-glass structure of a front wall or a roof of the type under consideration is comprised of a metal framework, the flats of which are covered with glass panels. The metal framework includes a plurality of main frame sections or profiles at the side of the building and a plurality of crossbar frame sections or profiles extended transversely of the main profiles and covered at their outer sides with cover frame sections which are connected by bolts to the main frame sections or the crossbar frame sections. The main frame sections, crossbar frame sections and cover frame sections have anchoring grooves for sealing strips supported at the edges of the glass panels. The main and crossbar frame sections are also provided with gutters for condensed water and grooves for percolating waters. The main frame sections are normally hollow profiles.
A conventional front wall-or-roof structure is depicted in FIG. 1. The crossbar frame section of the framework of this structure has only one hollow chamber, the upper wall of which forms two grooves for collecting percolating water. Percolating water is collected between the edges of the glass panels and the sealing strips provided in the cover frame sections and should be drained off therefrom through the grooves formed in the main frame sections. In order to provide a smooth transition between the percolating water-receiving grooves of the crossbar frame sections and the grooves of the main frame sections the latter should be coped in the region of the butt between the main frame section and the crossbar section. Furthermore the shape of the crossbar frame sections must be adjusted to the shape of the main frame sections, and the upper walls of the hollow chambers of the crossbar frame sections should extend up to the region of the corresponding water-receiving grooves of the main frame sections. If clogging takes place in the grooves of the main profiles percolating waters flow into the hollow chambers of the crossbar profiles. However, leakage can occur at the connections of the crossbar profiles.
Main frame sections or profiles of conventional front wall or roof structures have gutters for condensed water, which is collected at the edges of the glass panels and flows into the gutters. The bottom wall of the hollow chamber of each crossbar frame section extends in the region of such a gutter of the main frame section so that in case of clogging in the gutter of the main frame section condensed water can flow into the hollow chamber of the crossbar frame section.